Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Human excreta contain plant nutrients and have traditionally been used for crop
fertilisation in many countries. In Japan the recycling of urine and faeces was
introduced in the 12th Century and in China human and animal excreta have been
composted for thousands of years. Urine is the fraction that contains the major part of
the nutrients in domestic wastewater, approximately 80% of the nitrogen, 55% of the
phosphorous and 60% of the potassium (Swedish EPA, 1995). At the same time it
constitutes less than 1% of the total wastewater volume. Thus it is possible to collect a
relatively concentrated fertiliser by separating urine from the wastewater. Faeces
contribute a smaller amount of nutrients and involves greater health risks if reused due
to the possible presence of enteric pathogens. Human urine does not generally contain
pathogens that can be transmitted through the environment.
Microorganisms in urine
In a healthy individual the urine is sterile in the bladder. When transported out of the
body different types of dermal bacteria are picked up and freshly excreted urine
normally contains <10 000 bacteria per ml (Tortora et al. 1992). Pathogens that may
be transmitted through urine are rarely sufficiently common to constitute a significant
public health problem and are thus not considered to constitute a health risk related to
the reuse of human urine in temperate climates. An exception in tropical areas is
Schistosoma haematobium, which however implies a low risk due to its lifecycle
where a freshwater snail is needed as an intermediate host. Furthermore, the
inactivation of urinary excreted pathogens in the environment reduces their ability for
transmission.
Faecal cross-contamination
Any faecal cross-contamination that may occur by misplacement of faeces in the
urine-separating toilet is regarded as a possible health risk.
1
The presence of human faeces in urine samples was successfully determined by
analysing for faecal sterols. Cross-contamination was evident in 28% of the samples
from urine collection tanks. In tanks where the urine was found to be contaminated, it
was possible to calculate the amount of faecal matter still in suspension. Using an
average value of 4 µg coprostanol per mg faeces, contamination was calculated to
vary between 1.6 and 18.5 mg of faeces per l urine mixture with a mean of 9.1 ± 5.6
mg/l.
7
E. coli 4癈
E. coli 20癈
6
Faecal streptococci 4癈
Faecal streptococci 20癈
5 Clostridia 4癈
Clostridia 20癈
log (CFU/ml)
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Time (days)
2
values the furthest from neutral had the most negative effect on survival of the
organisms. At pH 6 most of the bacteria had a better survival than at pH 9. The
reduction of bacteria at high pH-values may be an effect partly of the pH and partly of
the presence of ammonia.
To investigate virus survival rotavirus and Salmonella typhimurium phage 28B were
chosen as model organisms. In summary, no significant inactivation of either
rotavirus or the phage occurred at 5ºC during six months of storage, while the mean
T90-values at 20ºC were estimated at 35 and 71 days, respectively (Table 1). In pH-
controls (pH 7), the inactivation of rotavirus was similar to that in urine at both
temperatures, whereas no decay of the phage occurred at either 5ºC or 20ºC.
Therefore, rotavirus inactivation appeared to be largely temperature dependent,
whereas there was an additional virucidal effect on the phage in urine at 20ºC (pH 9).
Table 1. Summarised results from the survival experiments, given as T90-values (time
for 90% reduction)
Gram-negative Gram-positive C. parvum Rotavirus S. typhimurium
bacteria bacteria phage 28B
a
4°C 1 30 29 172 1 466a
20°C 1 5 5 35 71
a
survival experiments performed at 5°C
Calculations of the doses ingested were based on the measured faecal contamination,
the incidence of infection by Campylobacter jejuni, Cryptosporidium parvum and
rotavirus in the population, the excretion of these pathogens and their inactivation in
urine mixture. Finally the risks for infection were calculated by using dose-response
models.
Except for rotavirus, calculated risks were below 10-3 (1:1 000) for all exposure routes
independent of the urine storage time and temperature evaluated. Due to the
persistence of rotavirus at low temperatures (≤5°C) and a low infectious dose risks for
rotavirus infection were up to 0.56 by ingestion of unstored and stored (4°C) urine. If
stored at a higher temperature (20°C) for six months, risk for rotavirus infection
decreased to below 10-3. The risk for Campylobacter infection was negligible (<10-15)
except if unstored urine was handled or used for fertilising. Cryptosporidium
3
constituted a lower risk in unstored urine than Campylobacter but six months storage
at 20°C was needed for risks to be negligible.
The risk from ingestion of contaminated crops will be dependent on the time that
passes between fertilisation and harvest of the crop, i.e. consumption, since pathogen
inactivation will continue on the crop due to UV-radiation, desiccation etc. In Figure
2, the risks from consumption of crops one to four weeks after fertilising with
unstored urine are presented. The risk for bacterial or protozoan infection was <10-5
after one week, whereas three weeks were needed for the risk of viral infection to be
of the same magnitude.
-1
C. jejuni
-2 C. parvum
-3 Rotavirus
-4
-5
-6
log10 Pinf
-7
-8
-9
-10
-11
-12
-13
-14
<10-15
-15
1 week 2 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks
These guidelines were set based on the inactivation of microorganisms in urine and
the results from the risk assessment do not imply that the recommendations need to be
modified. Under conditions (i.e. regarding temperature, pH and nitrogen concentration)
other than those given, the inactivation may be different.
4
Table 2. Relationship between storage conditions, pathogen contenta of the urine
mixture and recommended crop for larger systemsb. It is assumed that the urine
mixture has at least pH 8.8 and a nitrogen concentration of at least 1 g/l
Storage Storage time Possible pathogens in Recommended crops
temperature the urine mixture
4°C ≥1 month viruses, protozoa food and fodder crops
that are to be processed
4°C ≥6 months viruses food crops that are to be
processed, fodder cropsc
20°C ≥1 month viruses food crops that are to be
processed, fodder cropsc
20°C ≥6 months probably none all cropsd
a
Gram-positive bacteria and spore-forming bacteria are not included.
b
A larger system in this case is a system where the urine mixture is used to fertilise
crops that will be consumed
by individuals other than members of the household from which the urine was
collected.
c
Not grasslands for production of fodder. Use of straw is also discouraged.
d
For food crops that are consumed raw it is recommended that the urine be applied at
least one month before harvesting and that it be incorporated into the ground if the
edible parts grow above the soil surface.
Future perspectives
Whether urine-separation and the reuse of urine can be recommended depends on
whether the associated health risks are considered to be acceptable. These risks can be
balanced against benefits like the fertiliser value of human urine. Higher risks from
reuse of waste products may be acceptable in areas where enteric disease is endemic
and where it is more often transmitted through poor hygiene and sanitation
(Blumenthal et al. 2000). In areas where food is scarce, benefits from larger harvests
may reduce other risks such as malnutrition, which otherwise causes
immunosuppression and makes the individual more susceptible to infections. By
following suggested recommendations for storage and reuse, which are dependent on
the type of crop to be fertilised, it is possible to significantly decrease the risk for
infections. Urine-separation and the reuse of human urine are thus appropriate parts of
a sustainable future regarding sanitation.
References
Blumenthal, U.J., Mara, D.D., Peasey, A., Ruiz-Palacios, G. and Stott, R. 2000. Guidelines
for the microbiological quality of treated wastewater used in agriculture:
recommendations for revising WHO guidelines. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization 78(9):1104-1116.
Haas, C.N., Rose, J.B. and Gerba, C.P. 1999. Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment. John
Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
Regli, S., Rose, J.B., Haas, C.N. and Gerba, C.P. 1991. Modeling the risk from Giardia and
viruses in drinking water. Journal of the American Water Works Association 83:76-84.
Swedish EPA. 1995. What does household wastewater contain? (Vad innehåller avlopp från
hushåll?). Report 4425, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm,
Sweden. (In Swedish).
Tortora, G.J., Funke, B.R. and Case, C.L. 1992. Microbiology: an introduction. The
Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., Redwood City, California, USA.